Ben Cohen, 27: Handyman, animal lover who ‘took life by storm’

Ben Binyamin Cohen, 27, from Beit Hashmonai, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7.

He attended the rave with four close childhood friends – Eden Moshe, Dor Toar, Tamar Gutman and Yiftah Tweg — who were all slain in the attack that day.

At some point, the friends split up, and Ben, Dor and Eden left together via car. They were shot dead in their vehicle along the highway.

His body was not identified for several weeks after he was killed, and he was buried in the Gezer Regional Cemetery outside Modiin on October 25. Ultimately, all five of the friends were buried side by side in the local cemetery.

Ben is survived by his parents, Zehava and Rafael, and his older siblings Moran and Tal.

He was born and raised in Beit Hashmonai, the baby of the family, arriving 10 years after his next oldest sibling.

His family described him in an online obituary as an entrepreneur from a young age, setting up a lemonade stand or selling used toys. As a kid, he took cooking and ceramics classes and made up new board games. Ben loved growing up in nature, riding bikes, roller blades, spending time outside, especially with animals — including his beloved bull terrier Johnny — and enjoyed manual labor, his loved ones said.

He had a number of hobbies, including skiing, photography, traveling around Israel and abroad, playing music and visiting the beach. Ben was also active in his local scout troop, and above all loved spending time with his close friends, in particular Dor, Eden and Yiftah.

After finishing high school, he enlisted in the IDF, serving in the Kfir Brigade. After his release, he worked for a period in the local pizza shop before setting up his own handyman business for renovations, including training as a plumber. Over the past year he ran a business selling construction materials.

His mother, Zahava, told a culinary memorial project that what she misses most is Ben coming down the stairs every Friday morning to see what she had been cooking, moving between the different pots and sampling.

He especially loved fresh schnitzel — “the love of his life” — and Iraqi potato vegetable pancakes, known as Aruk, and by 10 a.m. each Friday, he’d already have had his first schnitzel of the day, she said, before his brother and father joined in.

“I really loved pampering them on Fridays and I really miss it,” she said. “He’d always compliment me on the food, he’d say, ‘You’re crazy, how many people are coming?'”

She said that “Ben was our youngest, he lit up the house, he brought so much light. A man of love. He took life by storm.”

Zahava said that at his funeral, “I promised that I would continue his path, he really loved to make people happy, he was happy, he pursued justice, was a man of love, of generosity.”

“It gives me a lot of strength to know that Ben is in a good place with his friends,” she said. “He’s not alone.”

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